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Listed at 6 foot, 4 inches tall and 285 pounds — which I think may be too kind — Jared Lorenzen, everybody’s favorite south paw from Kentucky, is now the Super Bowl’s largest recorded quarterback and is one Vince Wilfork-cheap-shot-on-Eli Manning away from being MVP of Super Bowl 42.
I vividly remember Lorenzen as both a player and a student when our collegiate paths crossed at Kentucky and he was clearly a fan favorite on the gridiron while also being a fiscal favorite among the lunch ladies. I specifically recall running in to Jared at an on-campus eatery known as K-Lair my freshman year and watching the big man throw down his meal card for not one, but two trays full of deep fried action. Gotta love college.
Jared was always extremely agile for his size and though he is listed at 285 pounds to date, he was hovering at or around the 300 pound mark for most of his time at Kentucky, conjuring up nicknames from the fan base such as the “Hefty Lefty,” “Pillsbury Throwboy,” and “USS Lorenzen.” ESPN College GameDay actually recorded a segment while Jared was a starter for Kentucky where they lined him up with his five offensive linemen and had non-die-hard fans find the quarterback.
Needless to say, they failed miserably. (If anybody can find a video of that segment, let us know.)
Most of Lorenzen’s career numbers surpassed Tim Couch’s and only a few have since been passed by Andre Woodson (total passing touchdowns in a season and a career come to mind) and Jared will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable quarterbacks in Kentucky’s history and likely as such in the SEC and NCAA as well.
Paul Finebaum, a noted columnist out of the Birmingham, Alabama area, ranks the football coaches in the SEC from 1 to 12 on a yearly basis with 1 being the best and 2 being the “worst” — I use that term loosely because you can’t be a terrible coach and still be a coach in the SEC.
Now I don’t know the guy personally but he comes across as kind of douchey looking to me and, as expected, I basically disagree with most of everything he said. Well, maybe not everything but here are his 12 in order and you can decide for yourself. I’ll spare you of his justifications, if you want to read them the link is at the bottom.
Mark Richt, Georgia
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Urban Meyer, Florida
Nick Saban, Alabama
Les Miles, LSU
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
Phil Fulmer, Tennessee
Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
Houston Nutt, Ole Miss
Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State
Rich Brooks, Kentucky
Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt
Now obviously I disagree with #11 from the start and Finebaum himself doesn’t seem to be able to fathom why he is typing Rich Brooks’ name next to “11.” but he does so anyhow:
“It just doesn’t seem fair that Brooks can do as well as he has the past two years and still not be able to move up in this ranking.”
Brooksie, however, isn’t the only ranking I disagree with — and my qualm is with bias aside as I am not going to vault Rich to the top just because he coaches at Kentucky. I also think that, in a conference with 5 coaches owning National Championships, it is a disservice to NOT have one of those at #1. Now I don’t know the exact criteria Paul used for his list but he does go on to say:
“…the list is a comprehensive analysis of the coaches and their current value.”
My thought process may have been different than Paul’s was and I took an approach to making my list as if I were an athletic director looking to hire one of the SEC’s coaches to start building a program NOW and how I would rank these coaching prospects based on abilities, name recognition, past success, etcetera. Also, I ignored the fact that Bobby Petrino is a lying bastard…
Here is how my 12 stack up:
Urban Meyer, Florida
Nick Saban, Alabama
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Les Miles, LSU
Mark Richt, Georgia
Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
Phil Fulmer, Tennessee
Rich Brooks, Kentucky
Houston Nutt, Ole Miss
Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State
Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt
OK, so Paul and I both agree that Vanderbilt just sucks — except at producing huge nerds who will make a lot of money one day – but other than the ‘Dores, our lists differ in many ways.
Let’s be honest, a 38-24 beating at the hands the LSU Tigers and compliments of the SEC is a small price for the Buckeyes to play to not have to play Les Miles on a yearly basis at Michigan.
In fact, had LSU fell just short of the National Championship game it may have been more likely that Les Miles would’ve made the move to Ann Arbor to lead the Wolverines thus making him the one who would again end Ohio State’s National Championship bid in the future — he would just be doing it on a yearly basis and one game sooner instead of once in the actual BCS title game.
So when Ohio State makes it to the BCS National Championship game again next year for the third straight year because of how perfectly the system fits their schedule coupled with how tough they’ll be again next year, the Buckeyes should thank LSU for keeping Les Miles out of the Big Ten.
That’s right, the Kentucky Wildcats did in the regular season what OSU couldn’t in the National Championship game and that is beat the LSU Tigers.
I can hear the excuses now. Last year it was: “We had too much time off.” This year it will be: “LSU had a home game and all of the calls by the referees went for the Tigers.”
Listen, there were plenty of Ohio State fans in the Silverdome they just had to travel farther. Period. And I don’t think the Big East officiating crew really cared about the outcome of the game unless Tim Donaghy somehow got penciled in as Line Judge.
But I digress as this isn’t meant to be a knock against the Buckeyes since “The” Ohio State University hasn’t done anything directly wrong to me. This is, instead, a discussion regarding the SEC and to once-and-for-all put to rest the talk by the media regarding the SEC being overrated this year while message boarders have supposedly blown the conference out of proportion (trust me, they get on my nerves too but just because you may disagree, it doesn’t mean forum crazies are always wrong).
To all of that I say this: The SEC was 7-2 in nine Bowl games this year and the SEC has the last two National Champions. Believe it.
(This all with a Steve Spurrier-led team NOT making a Bowl — show me another conference with that depth.)
And if you’re an Ohio State fan watching yours truly praise the entire Southeastern Conference — teams my Kentucky Wildcats have to play each season — while you couldn’t possibly fathom rooting for Michigan out of loyalty to the Big Ten (or vice versa) remember this:
Kentucky’s biggest rival is out-of-conference Louisville and I am willing to root for almost anything that will make the Wildcats look better while starting to prove all of the critics wrong who say Kentucky’s success is simply a fluke or due to the SEC being overrated this year. It is time to give credit where credit is due and Kentucky is 16-10 the past two season with back-to-back Bowl victories and did the one thing this season that Ohio State couldn’t.
Tennessee put away the Wisconsin Badgers with a late interception, stopping an attempt at a game-winning drive by Tyler Donovan to take home the Outback Bowl in what is shaping up to be a day of great football. The Michigan/Florida game and Texas Tech/Virginia game also had exciting finishes and I will have to say I was most surprised by the Wolverines’ defeat of the Gators in a game where the boys from Ann Arbor played some very inspired football in Lloyd Carr’s last game.
I will give the Wolverines and Carr credit, after two straight losses to open the season — with one being to Division 1-AA (a.k.a. Championship Sub-whatever) Appalachian State — they have really bounced back in what was shaping up to be a disaster of a season. Furthermore, the Michigan senior class lead by Henne and Hart had never beaten Ohio State and had never won a Bowl game — I guess the sun even shines on a dog’s ass every once in a while.
The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are yet to be completed and I must say I am very excited for the Georgia/Hawaii matchup in Naw’lins as I want to see the SEC do well but I think Colt Brennan is extremely fun to watch when on his game.
Speaking of the SEC, at the start of the “Grandaddy Of ‘Em All” in Pasadena, they are pacing the conferences with a Bowl record of 5-2 along with the MWC at 4-1 while the ACC and Conference-USA have, at this point, mailed it in at 2-5 and 1-4, respectively of course.
Other by-conference Bowl records:
ACC: 2-5
Big 12: 4-2
Big LEast: 1-2
Big Two Little Nine: 3-3
C-USA: 1-4
MAC: 0-1
MWC: 4-1
Pac 10: 3-2
SEC: 5-2
Sun Belt: 1-0
WAC: 1-2
I’ll take Southern California and Georgia, the latter in a close one, for the late games. Enjoy your football and sauerkraut this New Year’s Day!
After announcing 25 and then 34, the total of Florida State football players suspended for the Music City Bowl against Kentucky has reached 36 for ‘violation of team rules’. Now ESPN.com has made a point that, despite the ongoing cheating scandal with the online class, ‘violations of team rules’ could legitimately be for other, various offenses — anything from poor class attendance, to criminal charges, to a failed drug test.
Very good, ESPN, it wasn’t enough to be embarrassed by this plagiarism scandal you had to go and throw Florida State under the bus citing criminal charges and/or a failed drug test. Hilarious.
Regardless of the facts, Christmas has come early in the Bluegrass as it would appear that Kentucky has a much easier road to back-to-back Bowl victories in the Music City Bowl.
Let’s just hope the Wildcats don’t blow it, or else they’ll be the embarrassment in a contest involving the Florida State Criminoles.
I will start this post off by saying ‘knock on wood’ as I spent a preseason calling the Cleveland Browns the Cleveland Clowns and if it weren’t for the ridiculously horrible play by the Baltimore Ravens, my Bungles would be the laughing stock of the AFC North yet again (not that they have ever elevated themselves above that status in their 15+ seasons of inferiority).
Now that being said, it seems like the Criminoles never fail us each season and Florida State’s business has taken a slightly higher importance for me this year as they happen to be Kentucky’s opponent in the Music City Bowl. Well it appears as if up to 20 players could/will be suspended for the Music City Bowl, as well as the first three games of next season,
The suspensions are stemming from certain players’ involvement in a classroom cheating scandal regarding an internet-based course. Something about a tudor giving athletes answers.
Wow, what nerve. Unjustifiably assisting athletes to the point of plagiarism because they bring in millions for their respective universities — this has to be a first. Just atrocious and I am almost embarrassed to be an American because of this. Such dishonesty.
And I can stand on my moral high ground and judge others while simultaneously bathing in their misfortunes because when I cheated on my internet-based courses I didn’t get caught.
Five days after I began my current position as student manager for the basketball team, former White Station and Wake Forest standout Robert O’Kelley was relieved of his assistant coaching duties, something that we found out during a shoot-around.
“He’s a good coach,” Coach Walker said to us, “but you have to do certain things that aren’t really necessary at the high school level in college.”
Well said.
The same could be said about Bobby Petrino, who at this time last year was the toast of Louisville as the Cardinals — behind the arm of Brian Brohm — won the Big East Championship and headed to the school’s first BCS Bowl where they would beat Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl.
Not to mention that in July of last year he signed a 10-year contract worth $25 million to stay in the Falls City after turning down an offer in 2004 to become the coach at Auburn when speculation rose that Tommy Tuberville would be fired.
And to make matters worse, Petrino said to the fans of Louisville that he was looking forward to remaining coach of the Cardinals and bringing National Championships to the Falls City.
But much like my own relationships or pursuits with girls, he did the opposite when it came to commitment with the Louisville program.
A few weeks after leading the Cardinals to their biggest football moment in the Orange Bowl, he bolted for the Atlanta Falcons saying, in so many words, that it was his dream job to work alongside one of the best athletes at the time in the NFL and general manager Rich McKay.
But little did anyone know that a few months later, the guy he wanted so desperately to work with would end up trading the gridiron for prison time because of dogfighting, leaving him with nothing more than a shell of a team.
And leaving the Falls City with a guy who turned around the fortunes of Tulsa, only to finish with an even 6-6 record and no bowl game for Louisville for the first time since 1997 when Ron Cooper was at the helm.
Petrino, who to many was and is an offensive master (see his teams at Louisville for proof), was in, so many words, ill-prepared for the world of the NFL.
Instead of talking to successful coaches like Bill Walsh, Dennis Green, and others-coaches who made the leap from the college ranks to the pros with some success, Petrino took his instincts and beliefs and figured that he could transform the Falcons into a contender for the playoffs without Vick.
But despite this, did Petrino have a legit reason to leave?
If you needed more proof of the ever-failing educational system of the state of Arkansas, watch the below video (fast foward to the 4:28 mark) and watch a room full of grown men and women, “media” members no less, call the hogs. It looks like some sort of physically straining religious experience:
I like how it seems as if the press in Fayetteville was plucked directly from a local bar stool and dropped in to a press chair, all just seemingly happy to be there. I suppose it did take place in the middle of the night, afterall.
‘The Petrino Bash’ continues tomorrow as Doc drops his thoughts…
First and foremost, I have never claimed to break anything — let alone a news story — but the timing of me and Condo’s Petrino column yesterday morning, and our ensuing debate in the thread that followed, was quite ironic considering the events that unfolded late yesterday evening. Never would I have guessed that Bobby Petrino would actually quit the Atlanta Falcons in his first season (of a five year deal no less) with games still left on the schedule.
Furthermore, we continued our debate outside of said thread and based our discussions around how coaches seemingly don’t honor their contracts while players are held to much different standards in both the professional ranks as well as in college. The debate was sparked by Condo’s hunch that Les Miles will inevitably be the Michigan head coach while I maintained that — after signing an extension, talking shit to Kirk Hirbstreit in a called-press conference BEFORE a game, and maintaining on Mike & Mike In The Morning that he WILL be staying at LSU — if he bolted for Michigan now, I would lose some respect for him whiled adding, hypothetically, that wouldn’t be able to trust him if I were being recruited.
Thus, the discussion wasn’t started by the prospect of Petrino leaving (that event wasn’t even on our radars) but nonetheless was a discussion of the very nature of Petrino’s move and Condo and I both agreed that the contracts for these coaches are seemingly not actually contractual in nature afterall.
All this being said, my thoughts regarding Les Miles if he were to leave can actually be applied to Petrino and I don’t know, as a parent, how you would allow your son to trust a man who has signed a 10-year deal with Louisville, a 5-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, and a 5-year deal with Arkansas all in the past 17 months (since July 13, 2006), nearly to the day.
After pondering all of this, my thoughts expanded even further on the drive to work this morning: an interesting situation seems to be brewing among the coaching ranks as colleges can increasingly offer more money to their head men, thus closing the salary gap with the professional leagues, and we’re seeing more coaches fail at the professional level only to make a beeline back to college.
Editor’s Note: I don’t feel like adding links for each one of these but most information has come from the Associated Press or ESPN. A BIG THANKS to Condo for help with the research and keeping the list accurate and up-to-date. Also, anything you read is considered only a possibility until an official announcement from the respective schools.
Updated: December 11, 2007 at 7:10 PM EST
If you’re like me then your head is about to explode trying to keep up with the movement among the coaching ranks in the past few weeks. Have no fear, however, as I am here to (attempt to) get the story straight.
Arkansas - Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt resigned/was fired (November 26) after 10 seasons with the Razorbacks with no replacement being named at the moment.
UPDATE: (December 11) After unexpectedly resigning from his job with the Atlanta Falcons, former Louisville Cardinals Head Coach Bobby Petrino is supposedly negotiating a deal with Arkansas.
UPDATE: (December 4) After rumors of Tommy Tuberville and/or Tommy Bowden dancing in Fayeteville, both have signed extensions to stay at their respective schools — (Aurburn/Clemson)…
UPDATE: The rumor mill is churning once again and places current Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville in Arkansas sights…nothing confirmed yet but stay tuned as the game of musical chairs in the SEC may begin again…
Michigan - Lloyd Carr resigned (November 19) after 13 seasons as head coach of the Wolverines and it was believed that Les Miles, current head coach of the LSU Tigers, is the rumored front-runner for the job but it should also be noted that it is rumored that current Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English has already interviewed for the opening.
UPDATE: After supposedly talking to LSU Head Coach Les Miles again over the weekend (December 11), Lester has denied that he is going to Michigan and instead claims he is staying with LSU (after signing the extension, mind you).
UPDATE: Now being reported on ESPN.com is reports that LSU Head Coach Les Miles will be staying at LSU and will meet with the media at the Georgia Dome before the SEC Championship Game to announce this decision. The source also says that LSU associate athletic director Herb Vincent said Saturday morning that ESPN reports that Miles had accepted the head coaching position at Michigan were “inaccurate” and Miles agreed to a contract extension Saturday with LSU. God only knows what twists and turns are bound next for both the Michigan and LSU job situations, so stay tuned…
UPDATE: ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is reporting that LSU Head Coach Les Miles will accept the job later on next week and is also reporting that he will be taking Georgia Tech Defensive Coordinator Jon Tenuta with him to become his defensive coordinator.
UPDATE: Michigan has formerly received permission to talk to LSU’ Les Miles regarding the position. Hopefully this doesn’t develop in to an extreme distraction for the Tigers but it is no doubt that, with all of the speculation, the month leading up to LSU’s Bowl game will be quite tough for Miles and Co.
On a day when their franchise quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to nearly two years in Federal p.m.i.t.a. prison, the Atlanta Falcons were beaten manhandled by the New Orleans Saints, and Drew Brees’ birth mark, to the tune of 34-14. Now I didn’t actually watch the game as there are only so many Michael Vick and Hurrican Katrina discussions I can stomache in one lifetime, but I would have to guess that, with each embarassing moment, Bobby Petrino is seriously rethinking the events of the past nine months.
Not to mention that I am sure it also does not help that things aren’t all that rosey for Steve Kragwhatever and with the Louisville faithful wondering ‘what might’ve been’ had Petrino stayed.
The Falcons are 3-10. The Cardinals are 6-6 and home for the holidays. Atlanta’s franchise quarterback is next in line to be the quarterback for The Longest Yard 2. Louisville’s golden boy Brian Brohm plummeted off of Heisman lists and draft boards, spiraling in to obscurity (maybe not THAT bad) and possibly losing millions in the process.
But I’ll stop there, I am getting dangerously close to sounding like I feel sorry for Louisville, Petrino, and the Atlanta Falcons but truth be told I am loving every minute of this.
On the day that Ole Miss gift-wrapped a victory to Mississippi State, I wrote that in order for Ole Miss to get back to its long-gone glory days it would have to make wholesale changes in the football program.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
There was no doubt in my mind that Coach Orgeron had to go. Outside of wins and losses — but mostly losses — the Orgeron era was, in so many words, a complete wash and waste of time to the University of Mississippi and its fans.
Changes had to be made in Oxford one way or the other.
But in the case of what has transpired down in Hattiesburg with Jeff Bower, who on Monday afternoon was forced to resign for undisclosed reasons after 17 years with Southern Miss, is a travesty and to say for the fact that letting him go was a good idea is completely stupid.
Before Boise State, Hawaii, and Utah captured the hearts and minds of the college football scene, Southern Miss was setting the standard for mid-major football programs by playing top notch teams from what would later become BCS Conferences in the late 80’s and early 90’s under Curley Hallaman and a quarterback by the name of Brett Favre.
And then when Bower took over, the Golden Eagles rose to the national spotlight by being touted as having one of the best defenses in the country and one of the best running backs in Derrick Nix.
Redemption, as the annals of history has shown us, is sweet and inspiring.
It’s the same feeling that people like Tony Dungy, who after being run out of Tampa Bay a few years back, had when the Colts won the Super Bowl.
That Josh Hamilton had when he captivated the baseball world after beating his demons, nearly winning the Rookie of the Year with the Cincinnati Reds.
And finally, what Rich Brooks had when he led the Kentucky Wildcats to a victory over Clemson in the Music City Bowl last seasn after being on the hot seat the year before.
But this column is not about the aforementioned people, it’s about Mississippi State coach Slyvester Croom, who was one of my picks to be fired if he didn’t turn things around in Starkville in 2007 after going 3-8 in 2006.
To understand the magnitude of redemption, one who follows SEC football would look no further for an example of redemption in this group of Bulldogs.
On August 30th, the Bulldogs were shut out once again by LSU on National Television and if you asked any of the thousands that were there at Davis Wade Stadium on that Thursday night did the Bulldogs have a chance at registering at least two wins, they probably would have given you those same stares that you get when your drunk uncle flirts with your wife or girlfriend.
With a freshman quarterback in Wesley Morgan, the Bulldogs pulled off upsets of Kentucky and Auburn on the road.
Let me repeat that, a freshman quarterback.
Not someone being shilled endlessly on ESPN like Brian Brohm or John David Booty.
Then, in a scene similar to last year, the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide for the second time in a row at home, changing the negative perception of Mississippi State football over the last five years making them, in the process, bowl-eligible for the first time since 2000.
After having a slip-up against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, the Bulldogs entered Friday’s game against Ole Miss as the heavy favorites given the fact they’ve lost four of their last five to the Rebels.
And if you noticed how flat the Bulldogs were playing for most of the game, you would’ve thought that Ole Miss was the ones going bowling instead of State and how on the ground they were eating up yards like cheesecake samples in the first half.
But as it’s been the case with the Bullies this season, they found a way to fight and claw their way back.
With 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the pride of Starkville returned the Golden Egg back to the Golden Triangle of northeastern Mississippi and, in the process, accomplished something that few people thought would be possible from this bunch.
Redemption.
Not just for the seniors who had to endure the 49-0 blowouts, the probations, and what not.
But for Coach Croom.
After years of losing, the cowbells can continue clanging towards possibly Atlanta or Memphis for a postseason game.
The lasting image of the 104th game in the Mississippi State-Ole Miss showdown will always be of Coach Croom waving proudly the Mississippi State flag to the Bulldog faithful.
For LSU, the second time around as the #1 team in the nation was no better than the first time as the Bayou Bengals fell in triple overtime for the second time this season to the Arkansas McFaddens. The Tiger’s had a chance to send the game in to a fourth overtime with a touchdown of their own after Arkansas scored their touchdown and two-point conversion. It wouldn’t, however, be meant to be as Matt Flynn threw an interception in the end zone on the two-point conversion attempt to seal the Hogs’ 50-48 upset down in Baton Rouge.
Of course Kentucky put an end to LSU’s undefeated season with a stop on 4th and 2 to propel the ‘Cats to a 43-37 victory in Lexington in early October and the Tigers didn’t leave tonight’s game any happier than they left Lexington. Of course, Tiger Faithful can blame Verne Lundquist for this loss as he pointed out, at the start of the third overtime, that the third time was certainly not the charm for the Tigers thus far this season; it is clear to me that he jinxed LSU.
That being said, the most intriguing part of the night is the loss by LSU takes them completely out of the BCS National Championship game and I am beginning to wonder if any team actually wants to play for the BCS National Championship as numerous #1 and #2 teams have fallen this season while holding their fate in their own hands. The plot certainly thickens in the BCS title hunt and the games that Kansas and West Virginia play this weekend against Missouri and Connecticut, respectively, just became even more important than they were. All the while, Ohio State fans are seen crossing their fingers and praying to Woody Hayes.
And oh yeah, speaking of plots thickening, Les Miles meet Michigan; Michigan meet Les.
I happened to be sifting through some photographs from this season and came across this piece (I went to high school with Ball State’s #21, Chris Allen):
I didn’t know Wesley Woodyard was white…
And after a quick glance I had to do a double take: “When the hell did Kentucky ever play Ball State?“
They didn’t, of course, but the uncanny resemblance of the jerseys of the University of Buffalo Fighting Hot Wings to those of the Kentucky Wildcats cannot be denied — at least from a distance, plus I can’t read so don’t give me that ‘read the name on the jersey’ crap.
But nonetheless I decided to look up a few more pictures of Buffalo - which it is good that I decided on just a few because that’s about all that is in existence - and here is what I was able to dig up:
Baylor University fired Guy Morriss after the team’s 12th straight Big 12 loss and after going 18-40 in five seasons, reports ESPN.com. Morriss was the guy (no pun intended) whom current University of Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks replaced in 2003 amidst groans and ‘what ifs’ from the Bluegrass Nation. At the time, Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart was unwilling to match the salary Guy wanted and Baylor was offering and considering Kentucky was still being punished by the NCAA for infractions from the previous administration, it was an easy decision for Morriss to go back to his home at Baylor.
And as much criticism as Brooks has garnered, looking back I wonder how many who wanted Morriss over Brooks at the time would be on the other side of the argument now that Kentucky has put together back-to-back 7-win seasons for the first time since 1976 and 1977. Coach Brooks has almost as many wins the past two seasons as Coach Morriss had in all five years of his time at Baylor and it seems as if Guy’s career never fully recovered from the premature Gatorade bath seconds before the “Bluegrass Miracle” against LSU in Lexington in 2002.
We’re just eight days removed from the fifth anniversary of that faithful hail mary and I would venture to say Morriss still has nightmares of Marcus Randall to Devery Henderson in his dreams.
A couple of times during the season in this very blog, I ripped apart the Memphis Tigers football squad for not doing their part on the field and I pretty much wanted Tommy West with a rope around his neck for the piss-poor recruiting he’s done since DeAngelo left for the NFL in 2005.
I also said on this very blog that the university, for the most part, didn’t care about the football program and the best thing to do is ditch the program and just focus on the cash cow that is the basketball program.
But, for whatever strange reason, the Tigers are sitting one dragon slay away from earning the school’s fourth Bowl bid in five seasons should they win against UAB at home on Saturday afternoon after beating Southern Mississippi last Saturday in Hattiesburg.
And in the process making people like myself, who spent countless days at home counting down to the start of the basketball season, eat large servings of humble pie.
Before we got to this point of figuring out what Bowl game the Tigers would be playing in and what they needed to do in order to win their first Conference Championship of any kind in football since 1971, the Tigers, at the end of Septembe,r was on the fast track to being one of the worst in school history after being blown out on the road at Central Florida and choking against Arkansas State (in what would be the last time Taylor Bradford would suit up for Memphis).
Then, a week after an emotional win over Marshall on National television, the Tigers found themselves on the short end of a 21-7 loss to Middle Tennessee in a mistake-filled game for both teams and, in the process, allowed 490 yards of total offense with another stellar performance by an opposing team’s option quarterback in Dwight Dasher (who subbed for starter Joe Craddock).
But as the saying goes, there’s more to this story.
This year’s Heisman Trophy race is more like a game of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” with nobody stepping up to the plate to win the $1,000,000 prize. There have been many contestants who as soon as they get out in the spotlight as the favorite, fall out of the race. (See: Andre Woodson of Kentucky, Darren McFadden of Arkansas, and Matt Ryan of Boston College)
The Heisman Trophy is an award that has become an award that goes to the best player on the best team rather than the best player in college football. Typically, there is one or two players who tend to seperate themselves from the pack and their respective team is almost always unbeaten and at the top of the polls. Last year it was Troy Smith, the year prior it was Vince Young and Reggie Bush, and before that Matt Leinart.
However, the way this season has played out with the polls being turned upside down and no clear cut top player on a clear cut top team, it’s made the race one of the most debated in recent memory. Guys like Dennis Dixon at Oregon and Matt Ryan at Boston College who were not even consideration for the Heisman when the season started have been at the top of the list in recent weeks with Dixon having the upperhand at this point because his team didn’t lose last week.
Could this be the first season that the Heisman may go to the best overall player instead of the best player on the best team (in the polls that is)? If I had to make the call on the top 5 players on my Heisman ballot, it would like this:
Every time I play my friend Kenesha in pool, she always mentions to me that I act like I’m entitled to a win in pool because well, I’ve gotten better at pool since the beginning of the year.
“Why do you have to always be cocky?” she always asks me when we play.
The same question that my friend asks me constantly at the pool table could be also posed to Charlie “Fatty Boy” Weis, who is the portrait of the arrogance that is Notre Dame football - where he feels that his team should win National Championships because they’re Notre Dame.
That’s like telling me that I should marry Ms. Renetria because she’s a Pisces and I’m a Scorpio just because Pisceans and Scorpians have long-lasting relationships.
When Notre Dame fired Ty Willingham, the main reasonwas because Willingham couldn’t recruit and if you looked at the rankings of the Notre Dame recruiting classes between 2002 and 2004, none were ranked in the Top 25 in various recruiting publications.
But despite the fact that the Fighting Irish didn’t have a blue-chipper playing in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturdays, Notre Dame went to two Bowl games in Ty’s three seasons and Brady Quinn emerged as one of the country’s best quarterbacks.
And instead of doing business the same way they’ve done it for most of the 20th century -by keeping their coaches around for at least five years - they decide to push Willingham out and bring in someone from the “Cradle of Arrogance” that is the New England Patriots: Charlie Weis. A coach who had this explosive offense that was hotter than that random hottie in the Bryce Student Center at school.
But Notre Dame ahd to find out that later on that the offense that Weis had bragged so much about was just your typical college offense, just a little more emphasis on the passing attack.
In 2005, when the Fighting Irish had their annual showdown with Michigan State, Weis allegedly said at the pregame pep rally, “I’ll be looking for you at 5:40 when we’re 5-0.”
Something that former Spartan coach John L. Smith used as locker-room motivation to fire up the troops.
And to add to Weis’ comment, the “Megaphone Trophy”, which has been the trophy given to the winner of the Michigan State-Notre Dame game since 1948, was nowhere to be found in the confines of Notre Dame Stadium, because as some people believe to this day, the Irish knew for a fact that they were going to beat the Spartans so they felt no reason to bring it.
But what happened in the end was the planting of the Michigan State flag in midfield at Notre Dame Stadium - a response to Notre Dame not bringing the trophy to the game.
After saving the world with Jack Bauer and waking up with a lovely Creole, I am back again to man the Top 25 for the week of October 22-October 27.
This week’s “Brittanee McCaster Award” goes to the Vanderbilt Commodores for their win over the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, a team that now, as of this writing, sits two wins away from becoming Bowl eligible for the first time in 25 years.
We say goodbye to the Cincinnati Bearcats who, after their second loss in a row to the Pittsburgh Panthers, fall out of the Top 25 and we say hello to the Kansas State Wildcats, who looked impressive in their win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
1. Ohio State (8-0) For those that were wishing that the Buckeyes fell to the Spartans, consider this message: They are for real the best damned team in the country.
Next Game: @ Penn State Sat.
2. Boston College (8-0) The only clean and unblemished football team in Beantown.
Next Game: @ Virginia Tech Oct. 25th
3. Oklahoma (7-1) Oklahoma had to rely on the grace of God to avoid being an upset victim against Iowa State. Grace needs to be on their side if they want to remain in contention for the BCS title game.
Next Game: vs. Texas A&M Nov. 3rd
4. Louisiana State (7-1) Les Miles this year has gotten more grace down in Baton Rouge than the Republican Party over the last three years.
Next Game: @ Alabama Nov. 3rd
5. West Virginia (6-1) Dark horse in the BCS race needs to be mindful of those pesky Scarlet Knights.
Next Game: @ Rutgers Sat.
6. Arizona State (8-0) A pissed-off Cal team is waiting to put a dent in Arizona State’s chances at a Pac-10 crown.
Next Game: @ Californina
7. Kansas (7-0) Meanwhile in Hell, Satan is putting on his Jayhawk football jersey and it fits perfectly.
Next Game: @ Texas A&M Sat.
8. Oregon (6-1) Ugly uniforms or not, these Ducks are flying under the radar.
Next Game: vs. Southern Cal Sat.
9. South Florida (6-1) Bulls will bounce back from Rutgers setback.
Next Game: @ UCONN Sat.
10. South Carolina (6-2) Trap game last week showed that in order for the Gamecocks to win the SEC East, the secondary needs to improve as well as the offense.
A few weeks ago on the day that classes were dismissed for the Fall Break at Crichton College, one of the biggest upsets ever recorded in pool on North Highland Street occurred without the voice of Thom Brenneman doing the play-by-play. My friend Brittanee, in front of a packed Bryce Student Center and inches away from that random hottie who always seemed to catch my eye, beat me in pool.
And for the remainder of that day, I had to answer questions from everyone around me about how in the name of Jeanette Lee did I manage to choke away a game to a person I should have easily beaten.
And much like the questions that I fielded after that loss, every college football expert around the country is trying to figure how almost every weekend, so far this season, we manage to have what I call a “Brittanee McCaster moment” in college football.
Teams that are supposed to be nothing more than guaranteed wins for the Michigans and Ohio States of the world are doing the same thing my friend did to me on that sunny and warm Friday afternoon in the friendly confines of the Bryce Student Center — shocking the world of college football.
On yesterday afternoon, Vanderbilt came into Williams-Brice Stadium to play a South Carolina team with its highest ranking in over two decades and a shot to put themselves in the driver’s seat for the SEC East title while Vanderbilt was trying to do the same thing that they’ve tried to do for the last quarter-century, inch closer to being bowl eligible.
After upsetting the then #1 ranked Louisiana State Tigers, my Kentucky Wildcats settle in at home and welcome the Florida Tebows to Commonwealth Stadium for what is effectively been selected as ESPN’s game of the week. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the Florida visit this year would see Kentucky ranked higher than the Gators in Polls, the BCS Standings, and the SEC Standings, but here we are and it is time to put up or shut up and hopefully beat a team we haven’t beat since 1986 — before the majority of our players were born.
Taking a look at the offensive statistics leads one to believe that this game is a virtual push:
Total Yards: Florida 452.7 (30th) - Kentucky 474.4 (15th)
The statistical similarities are almost uncanny but with Florida having an extra week to prepare, they still find themselves as a 7-point favorite on the late line despite Kentucky being at home. Which brings me to the quote of the week:
“Florida’s a 7-point favorite and we just beat the No. 1 team in the nation?” Brooks said. “How does that equate? It’s pretty interesting stuff.” -Rich Brooks
This will be an exciting weekend in the Bluegrass as the University of Kentucky welcomes ESPN’s College GameDay (built by the Home Depot) to campus for the first time ever. For anyone going to the game, or merely tailgating, here are a few items you need to know.
Need-To-Know-Info:
College GameDay will broadcast LIVE from the W.T.Young Library at 5:00PM Friday night and from 10:00AM - 12:00PM Saturday morning and parking can be found at the adjacent parking garage (supposedly).
The “Cat Walk” will take place as usual at 1:15PM
Kickoff is at 3:30PM and the game can be found on CBS
GameDay Sign Ideas (feel free to use them as I am likely too lazy to put forth the effort):
“Basketball team? What basketball team?”
“Brooks ♦ Gillispie 2008: A Campaign That Cares”
Matt’s Keys To The Game:
Avoid the emotional let-down: Obviously easier said than done for some but coming off what could be seen as the biggest win in program history against a very physical #1 team, it is easy to have a “hangover” of sorts for the following game. Kentucky needs to remain humble yet hungry, as they have been all season, and come out and play another very physical game. If they play like they did last week, the Wildcats will be looking at another victory.
Protect Andre’: The differences in protection between the game at South Carolina and the game last week versus LSU are like night and day and just goes to show what solid protection can do for this offense: 43 points scored - 27 points in regulation - on the Nation’s top front line lead by Glen Dorsey and against a defense only giving up 9.3 points per game going in to the game. Florida proved what kind of speed they have on their defensive line in last year’s National Championship game and Kentucky’s embattled offensive line needs to step it up big yet again and give Woodson time to pick apart the secondary. The offensive line also gave up 0 sacks against this world-renowned defensive line.
Contain Tebow: You likely can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him and if there was one reoccurring glaring weakness on Kentucky’s defense it would seem to be their inability to stop a mobile quarterback. Tebow is the real deal, the total package, and basically the Gators’ entire offense. Tim comes in to the game with nearly 1500 yards passing and 13 touchdowns to go along with 500 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns on the ground making the sophomore quarterback Florida’s top passer AND rusher. There are no guarantees in this game but containing Tebow as much as possible will go a long ways in helping Kentucky find a way to win.
Matt’s Blueprint For Success:
Outside of the emotional and physical hangover that might affect the outcome, I feel that this game will be won, or lost, in the trenches. On both sides of the ball, Kentucky needs to control the line of scrimmage when at all possible. While on offense, playing up front as they did last week against LSU gives Woodson time to be successful, as well as remain healthy, and helps to spark our stable of talented running backs. On defense, being physical up front may prove to be highly advantageous in containing Tebow and forcing some long 3rd downs and some punts. The Wildcats need to be on their game again this week and need to put up another nearly flawless performance to have a chance at coming out on top as I believe Urban Meyer is 22-2 when he has more than a week to prepare for an opponent.
Prediction:That’s why they play the games on the field! ;) — (This worked last week, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.)
Editor’s Note: Below is a selected portion of the aforementioned article, to read the rest of the article click here.
“Weekend Recap - The Top Games to Review”
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I thought last Saturday’s celebration by the LSU’s fan base was a bit excessive, especially considering this miraculously-zany and unbelievable college football season thus far is just now entering the early minutes of the third quarter…the teams have really only recently emerged from the locker room, where the best coaches in the nation are just now beginning to recognize the identity of their own team and frantically making adjustments.
When the stadium announcer in Baton Rouge thundered the words Stanford 24 - USC 23 across Death Valley last weekend, red flags began to fly inside my BCSBusters mindset.
Hyperbolic phrases like “Be Careful, Hold Your Mud or Focus on the Present,” certainly came to the forefront. Although Cal coach Jeff Tedford heeded those words as he was heading into the locker room leading Giant Killer Oregon State 14-13 (as he too learned of Kentucky’s upset) the Bears suffered the same fate as #1 LSU - which is the first time since 1996 that #1 & #2 had fallen on the same day.
Given that the Top-10 oligarchies continue to crumble, who would step in to claim the latest pole position in college football? Certainly not Missouri, Cincinnati or UCONN - five more undefeated’s fell yet again, making the last three weekends the most infamous in college football history!
Please don’t console Les Miles and Jeff Tedford, because this is just the latest trend in an already volatile college football stock market, which is definitely heading in a bearish direction. BCS administrators be warned, the leaks in the dam will lead to a flood of controversy this coming December.
I wondered aloud last week if the hysterical celebration by Tiger Nation was an ominously bad omen, especially considering the mighty Gators quickly quieted the festive crowd with a convincing four play drive to take a commanding 10 point lead entering the early stages of the 4th quarter.
Yes, the Tigers did come back to win the game - one of the greatest games I’ve witnessed certainly within the last decade, but given the slew of shockers which have occurred just inside the framework of this season alone - someone forgot to wake up Tiger Nation, or at least provide some coffee breaks to sober up the alcoholic frenzy taking place on campus - for the throng of fans failed to comprehend that the LSU-Florida tilt was just a mid-term exam and that there would be other test and quizzes on the BCS horizon.
In what has been tabbed “The Year of the Upset,” it would be wise for all Fan Nations to hold their mud and actually act as if you’ve been in a championship race before, savoring the true dog-pile celebration for the end of the season. Who knows what is going to happen next week, given the recent surge from the upstarts located in Boulder, Tampa, Corvallis, Palo Alto, Lexington and Boston?
Matt
Charlie Hustle
Condo
Doc Hancock
Bob Swerski
Vega
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